The Snak-Vu Drive-In was a small drive-in located on the Manchester Expressway. It was the brain child of Curt Drady, a man who was well ahead of his time. Curt had the idea that if you could locate your concession near the street, you could keep it open during the day and make money while other drive-ins were closed. He also used FM radio to broadcast the sound to the cars instead of speakers on post. The only problem is that cars weren’t equipped with FM radios in those days. To solve this he passed out small FM transistor radios as you entered the theater and collected them at the exit.

The Snak-Vu Drive-In only held about 100 cars and the idea was that you ordered your food at a window as you entered the theater. Then you made a loop around the perimeter of the lot arriving back at another window in the concession to pick up your order. Then you found a place to park and watch the movie. The movie was free with your order. Curt couldn’t compete for feature films. Martin Theaters made sure he couldn’t get films. What an embarrassment! Curt had built a drive-in smack in the middle of Martin’s home town, their national headquarters. The only films Curt could rent were short subjects, Three Stooges comedies, and old serials. He put together a forty minute program that repeated itself throughout the evening.

This is of interest to me because my Grandfather Curt Baggett was Curt Drady’s very good friend. They collaborated on the Rexview (pre Martin) and the Snak-Vu. Curt Baggett owned Seban INC, a TV and Appliance store in Columbus for many years before closing about 1980.